Atelier Montex and the Kabuki Curtain | May 2 to May 27, 2023 |
On the occasion of the appointment of Onoe Maholo I, commissioned by CHANEL, Montex embroidered a monumental stage curtain designed by the artist Xavier Veilhan. To be discovered from May 2 to May 27, 2023, at the Kabuki-za Theatre in Tokyo.
On the occasion of the appointment of Onoe Maholo I, commissioned by CHANEL, Montex embroidered a stage curtain designed by the French
contemporary artist Xavier Veilhan.
The stage curtain (iwai maku) for the ten-year-old kabuki actor Maholo Terajima was designed by the French contemporary artist Xavier Veilhan and embroidered by Montex. From May 2 to May 27, this iwai maku will serve as the backdrop for the play “Oto Kiku Maholo no Wakamusha” (Maholo, the Young Warrior of Otowaya), performed by Maholo Terajima at the prestigious Kabuki-za Theatre in Tokyo during the Dankikusai (Danjuro-Kikugoro Festival).
Kabuki is a form of Japanese theatre that originated in the early 17th century during the Edo period (1603-1868). Kabuki actors adopt their stage names during a shūmei ceremony. At the age of ten, Maholo Terajima has been practicing kabuki since the age of four. He becomes the first Franco-Japanese actor to be recognized in this traditional and living art under the stage name Onoe Maholo I.
Xavier Veilhan conceived this stage curtain with the collaboration of Aska Yamashita, the Artistic Director of the Montex embroidery workshop. “It is an honor to collaborate with a great contemporary artist like Xavier Veilhan,” says Aska Yamashita. “This collaboration allows us to support Maholo, who, like me, is Franco-Japanese, in the early steps of his career, and I am delighted to reconnect with my roots while showcasing the craftsmanship of the Montex workshop.” Today, based in 19M in Paris, this embroidery workshop founded in 1939 was acquired by CHANEL in 2011, joining the Fashion House’s Métiers d’Art.
8,900 laser-cut multicolored organza disks, each with a diameter of 12 centimeters, were assembled on an ecru fabric base to create an abstract pixelated pattern. This pattern was enhanced with the name of Onoe Maholo I and the emblem of his family (two interlaced oak leaves on fans), created in trompe-l’oeil style on anthracite gray silk organza and embroidered with a Cornely machine chain stitch. Twenty vibrant shades of organza were combined to create the pattern on a surface measuring 25.4 meters in length and 5.3 meters in height, combining traditional embroidery techniques with an unexpected expertise on an architectural scale. More than 800 hours of work were required to create this iwai maku.
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